OAKLAND, CALIF. — Roy Williams traveled a long way to get outfoxed by an old golfing buddy.
Travis Niesen scored 26 points, and Kyle Bailey made three second-half three-pointers, and Santa Clara spoiled No. 4 North Carolina's season opener, 77-66, Friday night in the Pete Newell Challenge.
The cold-shooting Tar Heels lost their opener for only the fifth time since 1930 and certainly will lose their highest preseason ranking in seven years.
And Williams blamed himself for not having his team better prepared, but also gave credit to his longtime friend, Santa Clara coach Dick Davey.
"I've got to do a heck of a lot better job and do the little things we've talked about all along," Williams said. "We are extremely disappointed. Ticked off is what I am, but I'm ticked off at myself, not at the kids."
Williams invited Davey golfing at fancy Cypress Point earlier in the week -- and when their teams met on the basketball court, Santa Clara always seemed closer to the hole.
Niesen and 6-foot-2 dynamo Doron Perkins scored inside consistently, while the Broncos got most of the big rebounds. Santa Clara mostly kept North Carolina on the perimeter, where the Heels' poor shooting doomed them in their first game on the West Coast in four years.
Niesen forced himself to ignore the name on North Carolina's baby blue uniforms and just play.
"I don't think I'm very good, I just play really hard," said Niesen, who made 10 of his 14 shots. "I'm not afraid of anyone, man."
Sean May had 19 points and nine rebounds in the first meeting between these schools since Michael Jordan's playing days. Rashad McCants scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half before fouling out in the final minute.
When it ended, Niesen threw the ball up high enough to hit the overhead scoreboard, then walked in front of the fans, holding out his jersey while the crowd cheered.
"It feels like they're more athletic at every position," said Perkins, who added 11 points and nine rebounds. "We came out with energy we've never come with before."
Syracuse's Hakim Warrick passes the ball past Memphis' Tank Beavers and Arthur Barclay, left, during the first half. The fifth-ranked Orange defeated the No. 24 Tigers, 77-62, in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic championship game Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
No. 3 Georgia Tech 74, Alabama State 37
Atlanta -- Jarrett Jack scored 20 points, and Georgia Tech held Alabama State scoreless for more than nine minutes at the start.
The Hornets (0-1) were trailing 2-0 before the tipoff. Tyrece Legette was given a technical for dunking during the pregame warmups, and Jack hit two free throws before the game began.
Georgia Tech (1-0) pushed its lead to 13-0 before the Hornets finally scored with 10:43 remaining on Dustin Richmond's fallaway jumper.
No. 5 Syracuse 77, No. 24 Memphis 62
New York -- Syracuse's standouts earned the Orange a tournament title.
Hakim Warrick had 25 points, and Gerry McNamara added 21 to lead Syracuse to a victory in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Warrick, a senior forward, and McNamara, a junior guard, were the key players as Syracuse (4-0) closed the game with a 26-11 run during the final eight minutes. Both players were on the Orange's national-championship team two seasons ago, and they were two of five returning starters this year.
Rodney Carney, coming off a career-high 33 points in the semifinals, had 20 points in the first half for Memphis (3-1). But he had just five points in the second half, two in the final 30 seconds.
The victory evened Syracuse's record at Madison Square Garden to 69-69, 49-36 under coach Jim Boeheim.
No. 6 Illinois 87, Delaware State 67
Champaign, Ill. -- Dee Brown scored 17 points, and Illinois opened with an easy victory over Delaware State. Brown made five of six shots from the field -- going 4-of-5 from three-point range -- and was 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. He scored five straight points to key an 11-0 first-half run and had a six-point outburst that ended a Delaware State (0-1) rally early in the second half.
No. 12 Mississippi State 67, Saint Mary's 54
New York -- Lawrence Roberts, playing in just his second game of the season, scored 20 points, leading Mississippi State over Saint Mary's in the third-place game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Despite playing with a face mask to protect his broken nose, Roberts looked a little more like himself against the Gaels (2-2), finishing 6-for-18 from the field and getting seven rebounds in 31 minutes. Mississippi State (3-1) closed the first half on a 13-5 run -- that included the 50th three-pointer of Roberts' career -- to take a 34-23 lead. The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 14-3 run that started and ended with three-point plays by Roberts.
No. 13 Michigan State 104, Florida A&M 72
East Lansing, Mich. -- Kelvin Torbert scored 21 points and helped Michigan State to an easy victory over Florida A&M in the season opener for both teams. The Spartans have won 28 consecutive season openers, including all 10 under coach Tom Izzo. Maurice Ager added 20 points for the Spartans. Shannon Brown had 18, and Chris Hill 14, as six Michigan State players reached double figures. Alan Anderson and Paul Davis had 10 points each. Tony Tate had 19 points for Florida A&M.
No. 15 Maryland 93, Jackson State 57
College Park, Md. -- Travis Garrison scored a career-high 21 points, and Maryland pulled away from Jackson State after halftime in a season-opening victory. Ekene Ibekwe had a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds for the Terrapins, who had six players score in double figures. Maryland is 102-2 in non-conference home games since Williams arrived before the 1989-90 season. Dakari Wallace scored 11 points, and Kelly Ross and Antonio Williams-Parker had 10 apiece for Jackson State.
No. 18 Alabama 97, West Carolina 66
Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- Kennedy Winston scored 24 points to lead Alabama over Western Carolina. After the first five minutes, Alabama (1-0) never seriously was threatened by the Catamounts and led 49-28 at halftime. Alabama's biggest lead was by 39 points, 85-47 with 8:42 left. Chuck Davis and Earnest Shelton each had 16 points for the Crimson Tide, and Jean Felix had 11. Western Carolina (0-4) was led by David Berghoefer, who scored 23 points.
No. 19 N.C. State 100, East Carolina 66
Raleigh, N.C. -- Tony Bethel made his first five shots -- including four three-pointers -- and scored 22 points to lead North Carolina State past East Carolina in the championship game of the BCA Invitational. The Wolfpack (3-0) cruised through the three games, taking big leads early in all of them. They outscored their opponents by an average of 31 points and shot 57 percent.
No. 20 Notre Dame 66, Harvard 59
South Bend, Ind. -- Chris Quinn scored 20 points, and Chris Thomas added 17 as Notre Dame beat Harvard despite blowing an 18-point lead. The Crimson, who won just four games last year, tied the score at 57 when Kevin Rogus hit a three-pointer with 6:06 left. Both teams made just one more shot from the field, but the Fighting Irish (1-0) went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line, including Quinn going 4-for-4. Brian Cusworth led Harvard with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 22 Washington 89, Seattle Pacific 71
Seattle -- Brandon Roy scored 23 points, and Nate Robinson added 22 to lead Washington to a victory over Seattle Pacific in the season opener for both teams. A near-sellout crowd of 9,851 turned out at the campus Bank of America Arena to see the team that delighted Seattle last season with a surprise second-place finish in the Pac-10 race and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.
No. 23 Florida 81, Jacksonville 59
Jacksonville, Fla. -- Anthony Roberson scored 19 points, David Lee added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida routed Jacksonville in the season opener for both teams. The Gators won their 14th consecutive opener and extended their winning streak against in-state opponents to 24. David Lee, another player with the same name, led Jacksonville with 15 points.
No. 25 Gonzaga 98, Portland State 80
Spokane, Wash. -- Ronny Turiaf scored a career-high 33 points, and Gonzaga shot 65 percent. Neither team looked like it was playing its season opener. Both shot more than 60 percent in a frantically paced contest that was tied at halftime and close for the first 30 minutes. Turiaf scored 19 in the second half -- included 12 straight for the Zags -- to help Gonzaga pull away and inaugurate the school's $25 million McCarthey Athletic Center with a victory.
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